Anime rating game

"I lose more than I win; I can probably win three out of ten games."

After thinking for a moment, Kuzuryu Yaichi said again:

"However, playing chess with famous players regularly can indeed be very helpful in improving one's chess skills."

"At the beginning, I actually kept losing and never won."

"My chances of winning only gradually increased right up until the start of the actual match."

Yasha Shinten-i seemed to be deep in thought. As expected of his master, the other players were completely powerless against the Meijin. It seemed that this year's Dragon King Tournament would be very exciting.

"Master, we don't need to watch the rest of the animation. Let's play chess together."

"it is good."

Yaichi Kuzuryu did not refuse; he found playing chess more interesting than watching anime.

If he weren't the main character of this episode, he definitely wouldn't sit here wasting half an hour.

"There are four people here, let's play in pairs. I'll play against Tianyi, and Senior Sister will play against Sister Guixiang."

"Why is it allocated this way?" Kong Yinzi asked expressionlessly.

"Because I'm Tianyi's teacher, I've been busy these past few days and haven't had a chance to check if her chess skills have improved."

Kuzuryuu Yaichi paused for a moment, then continued:

"Of course, we'll start with three games in a row, then take turns playing each other. I'll try to play a few games with each of you."

It might sound a bit narcissistic, but my chess skills are indeed the best among those present.

"Alright, I won't go back tonight." Kong Yinzi nodded slightly.

"Alright, there's nothing else to do anyway." Kiyotaki Keika paused for a moment, then said with a smile, "But, does the Yaichi family have enough Go sets?"

"That's enough."

As they were talking, Kuzuryuu Yaichi took another set of Go pieces from the cupboard and placed it on the table.

"This is the chess set I used when I first moved here. It's been quite a few years. Later, someone gave me a new chess set, so I switched to the new one."

"Of course, this is definitely not about being fickle, it's just that leaving it there would be a waste."

"No need for so much explanation, let's begin," said Sora Ginko as she set out the Go pieces.

“Okay,” said Yaichi Kuzuryu with a smile.

Chapter 334 The Beginning of the Struggle

"As expected of Musashino Animation, every single one of their works is exceptionally brilliant, completely on a different level compared to other anime. Moreover, there are four shows each season, and this season there are even five airing simultaneously, providing a huge and satisfying experience."

It was already 11 p.m. when I finished watching the last episode of Musashino.

Aki Tomoya turned on his home computer, planning to write five reviews overnight and post them on the website and Twitter to help promote the anime.

Surprisingly, as soon as I started searching for keywords, a whole bunch of terms and links popped up.

There are predictions about the rankings of the season's anime, and also debates about which anime has the best visual appeal.

Even so, he wasn't too worried. After careful consideration, he wrote five comments and published them one by one.

Surprisingly, when I woke up the next day and was having breakfast, I suddenly found that there was a commotion on the website that I had been maintaining.

"The first one is definitely K-On!, no doubt about it. How many anime can go on to have a third season? Besides, K-On!'s sales and popularity are undeniable."

"K-On! has only 42 episodes in total across its three seasons, and that's with two OVA episodes following each season. CL, on the other hand, is a massive 50-episode series. Although the later plot hasn't been released yet, the game's storyline speaks for itself, making it an absolute masterpiece in terms of plot."

"Heh...CL was hovering around third or fourth place last quarter. They couldn't beat the Holy Grail War, so they came here to mess with K-On!? Who gave you the courage?"

"Anyone who has played the game knows that the common route at the beginning is rather boring, and CL's best part is in the later parts."

What's going on here?

While repeatedly scrolling down the website's comment section on his phone, Aki Tomoya was puzzled as to what was going on.

Although what they said seems to make sense, aren't these all anime produced by Musashino? What's there to argue about?

Since the CL anime follows the Nagisa Furukawa route and has 50 episodes, the Okazaki Shio part should have already been completed. There are indeed many touching moments there, and I even cried several times while watching it.

K-On! is a masterpiece of the moe genre, pioneering the genre. After that, many more anime featuring three or five cute girls appeared.

The two are of different types and are not comparable at all. What is the point of forcing them together for comparison?

Moreover, since they are both Musashino Animation studios, why do they have to compete to see who is better? What's the difference between this and the left hand fighting the right?

While I was pondering, someone suddenly tagged me in one of my usual chat groups.

[Admin, please say something! Which anime is your favorite this season?]

Aki Tomo also unconsciously scrolled back through the group chat history and found that everyone was arguing about who was better.

In the past, we would discuss our favorite works in the group, but the atmosphere was always harmonious. This is the first time we've had such a heated and uncompromising discussion.

"These people really have energy. They don't sleep at night, they're making noise at three or four in the morning, and they're still making noise after 7 in the morning. Don't they have to go to class or work?"

Aki Tomoya sighed helplessly and started sending messages:

"There's no need to argue about which is better, right? I like all the anime produced by Musashino, and I support every single one of them."

[There is no inherent hierarchy in animation, but there are differences in ratings. Of the four Musashino anime from last season, two received 4 stars and one received 4 stars.]

The remaining CL is too long and should be assessed this quarter.

Last season, Cinderella was consistently overshadowed. If it only had 24 episodes, it would most likely have gotten 4 stars, or at most 4 stars. But this season, it's competing with K-On! for ratings. Who can accept that?

So it was the ratings that caused this.

Aki Tomoya immediately realized that not only the animation production company cared about the ratings, but the fans cared about them just as much.

When your favorite anime gets a high rating, even higher than you imagined, it feels amazing to receive such divine approval. It can make you happy for days on end.

However, if a favorite anime doesn't get a good rating and is overshadowed by an anime you've always disliked, it can make you doubt your own taste and feel depressed for a long time.

Animations that are popular with the masses may not be approved by the heavens, and their ratings may not be very high, but there will always be some bias.

Although he had figured out the reason, Aki Tomoya fell into deep thought.

These two animations have different audiences and their fans don't completely overlap. Some people like both, while others only like one of them.

What do you think CL's rating will be?

Last year's K-On! Season 2 received a 4-star rating. Now, I've only watched one episode of K-On! Season 3, but the quality is very high, and the rating should not be lower than 4 stars.

If CL only has half of the previous quarter's data, the lowest rating is 4 stars, and the highest rating is 4 stars.

In other words, both films should have the same rating of 4 stars, and there is no competition between them.

[On the surface, that seems correct, but both Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and The Ryuoku no Ou are very interesting. Comparing them to the two 4-star anime from last season, Lonely Rock and Resurrection: How Did I Get So Deep?, they certainly won't be lower than 4 stars, which creates competitive pressure.]

"I understand what you mean, but the rating system for animation is determined by the heavens, not by people. There is no such thing as artificially controlling the ratings, nor is there a rule that a season can only have one 4-star animation."

[Heaven doesn't really care about these things, but sales and popularity are the most direct indicators. Who can be sure that when Heaven makes its judgments, it really doesn't care about these things at all?]

To put it bluntly, if you could only buy one anime Blu-ray with your allowance, who would you support?

Once the official sales figures are released, the results will be crystal clear, won't they?

Aki Tomoya remained silent. Yes, who can be sure that these things won't affect the rating?

Musashino has so many anime episodes each season that even he himself was forced to change his original support method of buying three copies, and had to work several jobs just to make ends meet.

For those who don't like working, they can only afford one anime Blu-ray per quarter, so choosing which one to watch becomes crucial.

Aki Tomoya had no way to refute it and could only sigh silently in the end.

……

Inside the Musashino conference hall, during the morning meeting, after clarifying the production progress of the current season's anime, Masamune turned and asked:

How's the promotion for CL and K-On! going?

"There's good and bad."

Yuka Okitsu put down her notebook and pondered:

"Due to the strategy of bundled promotion, both animations have reached the top of the popularity charts and are ranked number one on the hottest topics list online."

"Many viewers who don't watch anime much were also attracted and bought the Blu-ray."

"However, CL is, after all, a game adaptation, and there are many spoilers online, which has had a certain impact on new viewers."

“K-On! doesn’t have this problem, and besides, Mio Akiyama and others are real people, so they have a lot of fans.”

Upon realizing that CL was no match for K-On, Masamune couldn't help but sigh softly.

I had this worry last month, and now it has come true.

While the later episodes of CL are very touching, K-On! is equally excellent. Even if CL puts on a strong performance later on, it cannot guarantee that CL will be able to defeat K-On!.

If K-On! becomes the clear leader in sales and popularity this season, and CL falls too far behind, it will definitely affect the rating, and the 5-star rating might be lost.

Therefore, publicity efforts must be intensified, and preparations for the event should begin as soon as possible.

"Watanabe, come with me later."

"No problem, what's up, President?"

"We went to the relevant department to apply for approval, regarding the joint fan appreciation event organized by CL and K-On!" Masamune explained in general terms.

"President, will anyone participate? Even if the event permit is approved, what if the fans aren't interested?"

"A high reward, the chance to talk to an animated character, plus an appearance in the animation should attract a lot of people. If there's really no one, just hire some shills."

Watanabe Hayato was speechless. Getting screen time in the anime was easy enough; Musashino has several episodes each season, so it's easy to create a minor supporting character or extra.

But hiring someone shouldn't have led to this situation.

"I understand."

Chapter 335 That hurts so much!

The beginning of each quarter is the busiest time for Musashino.

Even after the project is completed, the script may be adjusted due to differences in ideas between the supervisor and the screenwriter.